Daryl. She was pretty sure the taller man was Daryl. The shorter blond guy was Matt and the African American guy to Daryl’s left was Jace.
She saw Daryl nod and gesture toward his friends. The next thing Ren knew, Lucas reached for her hand and pulled her forward. Jace then took her hand from Lucas, startling her. She glanced quickly at Lucas only to catch him nod to her that she was to accept this.
Lucas leaned in, cupped her cheek in a gentle gesture and bent his head so his mouth was close to her ear. “They’re going to dance with you. Go with them. I trust them.”
She wasn’t unused to Lucas having to leave her to make the rounds or to conduct business. What surprised her was him allowing other men to dance with her, or even more, charging them with essentially taking care of her. Lucas wasn’t one to trust others with what he valued. Not unless he was present and overseeing every aspect.
He kissed her cheek and then backed away, leaving her standing with the men. Jace flashed her a sexy smile and then gallantly gestured toward the stairs leading down to the dance floor.
She didn’t glance back at Lucas as Jace guided her down the stairs. To do so would send the message that she didn’t trust him. He wouldn’t appreciate it and she’d die before ever allowing anyone to think she didn’t have complete and utter faith in him.
Daryl came down on her other side and put a light hand to the small of her back while Matt walked behind them, effectively closing her off from anyone who might approach.
The music died for one split second while the DJ stirred the crowd into a frenzy. Jace leaned close to Ren where she could hear and said, “Lucas says you like to dance.”
“I love it,” she said with an exuberant smile.
Jace smiled back. “So do I. We’ll have some fun. Sound good?”
She nodded and relaxed. He seemed perfectly nice, and if he wasn’t, she didn’t harbor any illusions that at least four bouncers weren’t trained solely on her, and that as occupied as Lucas may be for the next little while, he wasn’t watching as well.
Jace pulled her onto the crowded dance floor but he, Daryl and Matt quickly formed a triangle around her so that no one got too close. The music started again and the bass thrilled through her veins, making each muscle jump in time to the beat.
Lights flashed, the electric, energetic music slipped under her skin and she let it flow through her body to every part until she loosened up and let go.
The men moved in closer, pinning her in the middle of them. The crowd around them gyrated in time to the music but Ren had her own little piece of the dance floor and she was free to move without fear of crashing into anyone else.
Here nothing could touch her. Not worry. Not fear. Not insecurity. Not her past. There was nothing but her and the sensual pulse of music and movement.
She quickly lost her inhibitions. Forgot she didn’t know these men. She sidled up to one, did a quick shimmy down his body. Quickly getting into the spirit, Jace held up his arms, tilted his body forward, and she met him in the middle, their bodies pressed together and moving in perfect synchronicity.
Warmth met her back and suddenly she was sandwiched between two hard bodies. They made no move to touch her or to put their hands on her, but their bodies cupped protectively to hers and she lost herself in the moment.
She put her hands up and turned to face Daryl. Jace slid up to her back, put his arms forward to block her in and they danced as a unit, smiling, writhing, laughing, her smile growing larger all the time.
Matt playfully pushed Daryl aside and crooked his finger wickedly at Ren. Not one to back down from a challenge, she sashayed forward, confident that her legs looked killer tonight. She was glad she chose the red shoes because they made her look and feel daring. Bold. Like a siren bent on seducing every male in her path.
She flipped her long hair back and let it slide over her shoulders then slowly worked her arms over her head, knowing that they’d get a glimpse of her br**sts. They’d look. She knew that much. She also knew they wouldn’t touch. Not if they valued their hands.
Matt was more daring than his two companions. When Ren got close enough, he grasped her hips and pulled her into his body so that his hips cradled hers. One hand remained on her hip while the other slid to the small of her back.
He held her tight against him and they danced while Daryl and Jace came in close, hands in the air, to shield them from everyone else.
They danced through several songs until sweat glimmered on her skin. The air was alive around her. Excitement was contagious.
She was having the time of her life. She’d needed tonight and Lucas had known it. He always knew it when she herself didn’t even realize it. Her heart squeezed and unconsciously she searched him out in the crowded club.
She found him standing inside the enclosure of his table. He was behind the railing, his hands down, curled around the metal as he watched her dance. She could feel his gaze on her, knew he watched her every movement. There were people around him but she knew with no false modesty that they didn’t exist. Nothing existed for him but her.
Feeling deliciously naughty, she turned so it wouldn’t appear she was focused on Lucas and then she began to give him his own private show. Granted it was in front of hundreds of other people and anyone could see, but he would know it was for him only and that she didn’t care about anyone else. Just him.
Jace and the others stood back a little, their expressions a mixture of “holy shit” and “I want some of that.” Ren slid her hands down her body, drawing attention to her br**sts, her hips and to the line of her legs.
She let them linger on the swells of her ass and then moved them back up to cup her br**sts through the thin top. If she thought he could actually see that far, she’d give him a glimpse of nipple, but the only people who’d enjoy that particular spectacle were the men Lucas had charged to dance with her and she’d only tease them so far.
She rolled her hips, then her shoulders. She closed her eyes, tilted back her head and ran her hands through her hair and then back down her body as if she were in the throes of ecstasy.
So into her dance was she that she didn’t realize that Jace, Daryl and Matt moved to the side. When she opened her eyes, Lucas was standing there, his eyes dark and possessive.
Wordlessly he stalked forward, curled his finger between her collar and the sensitive flesh of her throat and pulled her forward. It was a gesture she associated with possession. A reminder to her and to anyone looking who she belonged to.